Freezing temperatures possible as cold front pushes south after New Year's Eve

The National Weather Service has issued a beach hazards statement and a small craft advisory in your Treasure Coast forecast for Dec. 29, 2017. CHERYL MCCLOUD/TCPALM
Wochit

A person sits bundled against the cold near a blue lobster ice sculpture, Thursday, Dec. 28, 2017, outside the New England Aquarium in Boston. The National Weather Service said there's the potential for record-breaking cold this week in New England. (Photo: BILL SIKES/AP)

New Year's Eve is expected to be pleasant on the Treasure Coast — as a blistering Arctic blast sweeps through much of the Midwest and Northeast, possibly blanketing some areas in more than 6 inches of snow.

But that same cold front is expected to dip into Florida late next week, potentially cutting average temperatures in half along the way. Some predictions even call for snow flurries in Tampa, although meteorologists are downplaying those chances.

"It will be cold," said Kevin Rodriguez, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Melbourne. "How cold it will be is what we’re still trying to figure out."

Local temperatures are predicted to hover in the low 70s through the weekend, Rodriguez said.

The high Sunday is expected to be about 70 degrees, Rodriguez said. However, temperatures are expected to drop to the upper 40s or low 50s by midnight, he said.

Though folks out and about may need a jacket on New Year's Eve, conditions here are a dream compared to what northern states will experience.

When the ball drops in Chicago, it's expected to feel like minus-10 degrees outside, according to AccuWeather, a private weather service based in State College, Pennsylvania. It doesn't get much better in New York, where it could feel like minus-5 degrees, or in Washington, D.C., which is predicted to feel like 10 degrees.

The mercury won't even rise to zero on Saturday and Sunday in Minneapolis, according to AccuWeather.

Even in the South, temperatures are expected to be 20 degrees below average in cities such as Nashville, Tennessee, and Little Rock, Arkansas, according to AccuWeather. Both cities should experience temperatures in the 20s on Sunday and Monday.

Still, the New Year's Eve chill isn't expected to sniff the record low of minus-4 degrees felt in Times Square in 1918, according to AccuWeather.

Cold Arctic air that has been building over western Canada for weeks is now plunging into the northeast, bringing on this prolonged bout of frigid weather, said Dan Kottlowski, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather.

Parts of the Dakotas, Minnesota and Wisconsin are struggling to reach temperatures in the low teens during the day, Kottlowski said. Many of these areas are seeing record low temperatures, especially at night, he said.

By New Year's Day, much of the Deep South will feel the Arctic breeze, Kottlowski said.

"There's so much cold air in place, eventually it will sink southward," Kottlowski said.

While many states up north are freezing, Florida has a few days to spare before feeling the frosty breath of this cold front.

Late Monday and into Tuesday, a storm system developing southeast of Florida could bring a good amount of rain to the Treasure Coast, Kottlowski said. That system is projected to run into the chilly Arctic air, lowering temperatures in the area, he said.

Temperatures on the Treasure and Space coasts are predicted in the upper 30s to low 40s late next week, Rodrigez said. Average temperatures this time of year range from the low 70s to low 50s, Rodriguez said.